Skip to main content

 With our products 
 we are building 

 trust every day.

Welcome to AIR Avionics — born in southern Germany, grounded in aviation, and driven by innovation. What began as a small co‑founder‑led team of passionate pilots and engineers has grown into a recognized name in general aviation avionics. Yet, at our core, we remain an owner-managed, fully independent company, with dedicated professionals—most of whom still regularly fly—guiding every stage of design, certification, and support.

Team

Each one of our team members contributes unique skills every day. Our entire leadership team, as well as most of our sales, support, and development staff, are active pilots.

Service

Our service team is active 11 hours a day on working days. Currently, over 40% of customer communication is answered in the same hour, and over 90% on the same day.

Certification

We are an EASA-certified production (DE.21G.0173), maintenance (DE.145.0447), and ADOA organization. We hold several TSO approvals, STC, and MCA for our products.

Locations

We have two locations, both in southwestern Germany. Together with our sister brand AIR STORE we run a showroom and demo our products in person.

Our Mission

We are on a mission to make flying better, safer, and simpler. By combining cutting-edge technology, uncompromising quality, and user-focused design, we deliver avionics systems that elevate both your flight experience and situational awareness. From ultra-compact radios and transponders to state-of-the-art traffic awareness systems, our products help you fly safer.

Located in two sites in southwestern Germany, AIR Avionics is entirely equity-financed and fully self-reliant. End-to-end control—spanning development, manufacturing, certification, sales through AIR Store, and service—means we stay true to our values without influence from external investors or pressure to compromise.

This independence drives transparency, quick decision-making, and long-term thinking—all anchored by the fact that we build products for pilots, by pilots.

Markets

Our product focus is on the general aviation sector. In addition to standard products, we develop technology for other market segments, including commercial aviation and defense. Our products are sold via the AIR Store to end customers, manufacturers, maintenance companies, and distributors. We sustain a worldwide network of professional dealers that carry our products.

Technology

We develop avionics systems for airborne and ground applications in the fields of communication, air traffic control, and traffic detection. Our team develops all aspects of our products in-house. Our competencies range from mechanical engineering, electronics, and radio frequency engineering to software development for safety-critical systems.

Made in Germany

We are based in two locations in southern Germany.  The entire value chain, from research and development to production to sales, takes place within the company, which is 100% equity-financed. Thus, we are commercially and technologically independent. 

Our Values

Our guiding principles are not just words—they are the foundation of every boardroom decision, engineering milestone, and customer touchpoint:

  • Responsibility

    With our products and services, we bear responsibility for the safety of pilots. In addition, everyone in the team is responsible for the company and thus also for securing the jobs of our team or colleagues. Everyone is always aware of this multifaceted responsibility.

  • Independence

    We are and act completely independent of third-party interests. This applies to all partnerships as well as with regard to the financing of the company.
    Our owner-managed company has all the essential technical, regulatory, and commercial core competencies. We constantly increase the knowledge within the company and make it usable in order to make us independent of individuals. The knowledge of individuals is democratized in a targeted manner through documentation and standardization.

  • Quality

    High demands on the quality of our products and processes as well as on our daily actions are our top priority. Development, production, and all quality assurance measures are always carried out under our own control and under the supervision of authorities and certifiers. We work to continuously improve and encourage regular feedback from all process participants.

  • Integrity

    We make sure that we meet the expectations of our customers and partners as well as the expectations of our team regarding ourselves and our performance. In doing so, we always act honestly and bindingly. We reject individual agreements and preferential treatment of individual customers, suppliers, employees, or partners. Our wage structure is fair.

  • Efficiency

    We act sustainably by using goods and resources economically and sparingly. We ensure that our working time and attention are used purposefully and efficiently.

  • Performance

    We stand for performance. Every day we give our best. We want to achieve results in order to advance our vision. To this end, we face comparison and measurement of our performance, both as a company and personally. We see this as a welcome assessment, with the goal of improvement. As a team, we give our all together to succeed in a tough competitive environment.

Our History – A history of innovation.

Since the late 1990s, we have developed numerous products and projects for the aviation community. From apps and little interface units to sensors, ground-based surveillance systems, radios, transponders, and OEM modules. 

AIR Avionics was born from a shared passion for aviation and a belief that great avionics start with understanding the pilot’s needs — because we were pilots before we were engineers.

Our roots trace back to the late 1990s, when two brothers began building their vision. Garrecht Avionik brought certified avionics expertise to the market with compact, reliable Mode-S transponders and a strong reputation for quality. A few years later, Butterfly Avionics introduced the first graphical traffic displays for FLARM, quickly gaining recognition among pilots and innovators in the field.

As both companies grew, so did their collaboration — from joint research projects to a shared mission. In 2013, Garrecht and Butterfly came together under the AIR Avionics brand, uniting their strengths in certified avionics and modern user interface design. A full merger followed in 2017, with all five original founders still actively leading the company today.

Since then, AIR Avionics has become known for building some of the most compact, integrated, and pilot-friendly avionics systems on the market — including the award-winning AIR Traffic family and the versatile AIR Control Display. Our avionics technology now reaches beyond general aviation, supporting applications in air traffic control, obstacle lighting, defense, and commercial aviation. 

Headquartered in southern Germany, we remain independent, owner-led, and hands-on — designing, certifying, and supporting every product in-house. Today, AIR Avionics continues to grow, guided by a simple goal: to make flying smarter, safer, and more enjoyable — one cockpit at a time.